It’s DART’s big day: Asteroid collision just hours away

On Monday, NASA will attempt to test a technology that it hopes can protect the Earth from large asteroids. The Double Asteroid Redirect Test, or DART, will hit a small asteroid called Dimorphos at 7:14 pmEST in the hopes that it will change the asteroid's position around Didymos. We can have some confidence that we can alter the trajectory of small objects that pose a threat of colliding with Earth if we succeed.

Things can go wrong. The camera on DART won't be able to resolve its target until under two hours before the collision, and the final trajectory to impact will be handled by its onboard software.

Ars will be in attendance at the pre- and post- impact briefings that NASA will be holding. NASA TV's coverage will start at 6 pm and will be available on demand.

If that's too fast for you, a half an hour later you'll be able to watch a live stream of images from the DRACO camera. The final image before impact will show objects less than a meter across on the asteroid's surface.